WILBERFORCE — Central State University is looking to develop a multi-million dollar lab to test and research medical marijuana.

The Institute of Medical Marijuana is a partnership between Central State and Springfield-based Buckeye Agriculture, LLC. The two will work together to provide $2.25 million to build the lab and provide working capital. Buckeye Agriculture owners, Yianni Lagos and Argeri Lagos, will also provide consulting, according to the application on file with the Ohio Department of Commerce, which oversees the Ohio Medical Marijuana Program.

Central State and Hocking Technical College — the only two public universities to apply — received provisional testing licenses from the state in June.

The institute will be built on the far north end of the campus, which is backed up by “a vast sloping forest” and located next to the CSU Police Department. This facility will be completely secure and comply with all requirements of the OMMPC, according to the application.

The mission of the proposed institute is “to coordinate, conduct, and evaluate research on plant species, and specifically cannabis, to maximize scientific, medical, and societal benefits while minimizing harm to individual users and humanity.”

The institute will create 16 new jobs: 10 science, four security and two business administration positions.

To transport samples from the cultivators and processors, the university will acquire a Lenco BearCat, which is used by SWAT teams and can withstand up to a .50 caliber attack.